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For me I firstly look for a unique face morph something that I could not easily dial up. I like characters that offer different eyebrow colours as this tends to limit the characters versatility if there is only one ~ my ideal Package would include blonde, brown, red and black. Makeup options and complimentary shades for eyebrows lips and nails are a bonus. A few packages I've seen have a hair line this's excellent but much like the brows colours the wider the selection the more versatile the package. alien skins are something very different and as such I usually snap them up especially those from raw art and midnight stories which are suitably different to what I normally have. Eyes are an interesting one with so many good eye specific sets it takes something to really shine in this department that said pretty impressed with Domina.
...I agree.
I agree too, and I can't stand plucked or shaped brows on grown men, either.
actually unless I am looking to recreate a promo or a certain celebrity I rather mix my different characters. I prefer original morphs so I can have fun spinning dials. Most of my characters are stylized. I got some of the HD versions of the DO G2 figures. I think I have them all except the HD version for Gianni. Not sure if it is released yet.
I like to find ways to bridge stylized with realistic. I used Felicity HD skin with Fiends Forever and the Girl mix to achive the look I wanted.
I am looking for unique textures ... theatrical ... unusual make-ups as well.
I love things that are hand painted or made from scratch.
Sick to death of Merchant Resource characters and soft glowing glamor models.
So much of what I see on any given day promptly blends in with what was released the day before.
Some weird big breasted, glamor/snow blindness I am effected by, I am sure.
As a result I always looking but rarely buying characters anymore.
We should start a separate thread of "unique" and "unusual" characters we have found.
I am sure I am missing some wonderful creations out there. :)
I like head morph sets that I can mix and match to create a new character, so I'd rarely buy a character package for its morph. That said, I'll dial in a good character morph in lesser amounts so a good one will get used if it can blend without causing issues (such as teeth poking through lower lip).
The exceptions are the truly unique characters like those from RawArt or MEC4D. Phoenix1966's characters are also different enough that I'd be happy to use them straight out the box if the need arose.
I like an 'everyday' look so faerie types (large, wide-spaced eyes and barely-there nose and chin) and women with huge lips will need a lot of morphing before I begin -- meaning I probably won't buy. Actually, big puffy lips are a pet hate and send me running in the opposite direction. But sculpted-in pouts where the lips don't meet in the middle can be a real problem too (regardless of lip size) as they can be tricky to morph out.
More important than make-up is a good no make-up default option, and I prefer non symmetrical face textures so that the eyebrows look more real. I do like the more natural lipstick options (not too harshly applied) that I'm now seeing with some G2F girls.
The OP mentioned nails... they don't interest me all that much, to be honest, but I'd like the default option to be natural and not too manicured. I can mix and match eyes so again not too bothered unless they add something new. Natural features such as freckles plus subtle makeup options would be very useful to me.
What do you look for in a character? Simple, 3 things, detail, non symmetrical and realism.
Oh and no painted on Eye Brows or a no eye brow option.
Due to story writing I look extensively at the versatility of characters for story renders, so e.g. a character that can be used across different age generations (like e.g. a lot of Male-M3dia and company products) is almost immediately a must-buy for me. Make-up / eyebrow / eyelash / tattoo options come in close second then. As for skin I am actually buying both photorealistic skins and more "doll-like", fantasy skins - again due the stories, as they have a strong emphasis on fantasy combined with contemporary fiction.
More options for the Skin.
If I look at the different skins in my content I think they are all nearly perfect... even that for teen-characters. But look around... most People don't have perfect skin.
They have frackle, pimpl, pock-markes, mole, small scars and sometimes big scars (maybe from an Operation).
Most of this things would be great as a LIE Option so we can place them were we want them.
First thing I look for is, does the character closely resemble one of my characters that already exist in my head or in something I've written (which, admittedly, is not something that the PA or vendor can control for).
Failing that, I'm likely to buy if it meets more than half of the following criteria:
- Promos look like a real person (this one is almost essential...if I can't suspend disbelief at least a little, I'm probably not buying)
- Skin textures have realistic details and ideally some imperfections
- Unique, or at least different than the characters I already own
- While I don't want everyone to look like fashion models, characters that are more attractive are admittedly...more attractive
- Contains a variety of texture options (eye color, makeup, facial hair, body hair, etc.)
- Contains some morph options
- Good "bang for the buck" (competitive price compared to other characters of the same quality and feature list)
- Suitability for fantasy or historical renders - usually not a problem, but occasionally characters have more of a sci-fi or modern pin-up feel
- Other users recommend the character, or are getting good results
- Extras or bonuses: hair, clothing, poses, and/or light presets included are nice
None of this is a guarantee that I'll buy right away, as that depends on funding and on what my priorities are at the time. I still haven't bought the FW Dan Megapack, for instance, although it meets basically all these criteria, but I intend to get it soon.
I usually change the breasts to be smaller, actually. I just prefer smaller breasts on figures in general than what is popular. True, I can change it, but the thread here is what I look for in a character. So that is one of the things I look for. =-)
...until G2F, good breast reduction was just not a possibility. That is why I purchased the original GenX so I could import the Steph4 NPMs on to Genesis
I'm another one who usually dials down the breast size. Supposedly the number of women who wear a D-cup has been increasing steadily in North America and northern Europe, but the other side of that statistic is that the increase is partially due to increased breast enhancement and partially due to overall weight gain Female DAZ characters tend to reflect the first half of the statistic right at and miss the second. Fortunately, now that Genesis and G2F/M exist we can finally dial everything to get a natural range of character sizes and proportions... though I have to say I'm not 100% satisfied with the nose and ear selection yet. Joe Quick used to sell an amazing V4 set called "The Nose Brigade" that was sitting on my wish list when he shut down his shop at Rendo and I keep hoping he'll bring it back here or put out a Genesis version. (If you're reading this Joe, I'll buy whatever ya got.)
I'm actually about to make a post asking for suggestions of characters with the criteria I'm about to mention, what a strange coincidence!
For female textures it's much easier than male for me, because the majority of them have what I want: Young, clean, high-def texture with no tattoos or makeup (having options to apply them are obviously a bonus).
For males it's a bit more difficult and I'm a little more picky. I strive for value when purchasing things as basic as characters (I rarely use the morphs, mostly just looking for good textures). For males I look for as hairless (read: age-netural) as possible and include a genital texture. I'm much more willing to relent to the latter then the former. I can count on one hand how many times I've used a gential texture, but having the option open is nice.
The reason for clean textures is because I create my own characters for the large part ranging from ages 5 to 80. Having a texture that can work on a 5 year old and a 25 year old is nice. It's much more believable on girls, even if I find an extremely good example of a hairless male. I made the mistake of trying to make a 10 year old with the mike 6 texture. That 5-oclock shadow. Yikes.
Also, I'm always on the lookout for a high-def female texture with freckles. V4 Elite Katie was one of my first purchases ever but you can only use the same texture on so many characters.
TL;DR I strive to find age-neutral textures for both genders (much easier on females) and prefer male textures that come with gen-maps because why not.
...I agree about noses. They can be one of the most distinctive features on a person's face. I also agree that the base morphs don't really cover all shape possibilities. Would be nice to see a Nose Morph resource.
What I look for more than anything when it comes to characters are, especially male characters is how smooth and unblemished the skin is. Too many times am I annoyed to see a a character that looks great in the initial promo, only to rolls my eyes when I get a closer look to see all the mole spots, freckles and painted on facial/body hair. This is why I mainly stick to same few male skins that exist for Hiro and Teens.
Granted, I know that realism is the name of the marketing game, especially now with Gen 6. However, in all actuality, not every guy in the world is a blotchy Sasquatch. In fact, quite a few young adult males today have pretty feminine appearances. Hell, I still remember my high school days in the gym locker room, seeing all the 16 -18 year old slender, hairless bodies. And these were just the JOCKS! Even now in college when I see the 20 -25 year old basketball/soccer team in the changing area, I still encounter a significant amount of the same. And mind you my college is more internationally diverse than my high school was.
So I'm not sure if it's advancing genetics or simply the fact that my generation is more cosmetic-savvy, but the point is, I know I'm not crazy when I say there should be a lot more smoother male skins than what the entire 3D Art world has available.
Of course, after posting this, I started thinking, "Why haven't I bought the Dan Megapack?" ...and then I saw it was 60% off...and now I have it. :)
Unlike some people here, I like painted on brows because I've never been able to get the so-called "brow plate" for Gen4 characters to work properly in my software of choice (DS3A). (Which tells you just how irrelevant my opinion is, huh?) For women, I can always use characters w/ relatively strong, slight arched brows on the skin. Makeup mats that load lip and eye options simultaneously are annoying, because I prefer to mix and match. females without makeup free options and males without smooth options are annoying, but I've bought them anyway. Skins made by people who have no idea what *subtle* eyeshadow looks like are annoying-sixteen different vivid, heavy eyeshadows that go up nearly to the eybrows, okay that's nice and somewhat useful, but that's NOT what a lot of women in visual media and real life wear.
An interesting face helps sell me on the product, and there are a handful of characters that I just love as a whole package, skin and face and all (Naiad, Samson, Ghislaine, Locke, the no longer available Honorine Cameroonian Elegance). But in practice I spend a lot of time mixing and matching. Body morphs? I like them better when they're dialspun mixes of well-supported (by clothing) morph packs like Morphs++, and if they don't seem to work with the face then they're kind of jarring, but they're a component I don't actually use that intensively regardless.
I like both stylized and naturalistic skins-JKing and Morris are two of my favorite artists and they are at very different ends of that spectrum. But they have to look appealing in the promos. I don't do nude art, so some things that are dealbreakers for others aren't for me. I do like well-done second skins, but the absence is not a dealbreaker.
An interesting, non-gross fantasy or alien skin or creature morph usually makes me sit up and take note.
...I seriously dislike the "painted on" eyebrows because they dictate what hair colours can and cannot be used.
For example the Graeme skin texture is perfect for Leela's elf friend Tracey but the eyebrows are a total mismatch as the character has white hair and the brows are too dark. The only way to get around this is to "paint out" the existing eyebrows an then have to digitally "paint" my own which is a very tedious process, made all the more difficult as I have an unsteady hand due to my arthritis. Because of the skin highlights, I cannot simply do a "magic wand" or "fuzzy select" to change the colour value of the existing brows as the lighter portions of the surrounding skin is also selected. I basically have to perform a pixel by pixel select along the edges which is even more tedious and still does not give perfect results.
I pretty much always paint out eyebrows on textures now, instead create Garibaldi brows, It is tedious but I find when you get it right its much more convincing especially in close ups. And yes I agree KK, usually there are no optional colour options for the brows on a texture and it can limit convincing hair colour options (Assuming the head hair isn't dyed of course lol)
For Female textures particularly, I do dislike them if they are heavily "photoshoped" into doll like flawless skin, Im not saying such enhancements shouldn't be done, I can understand many folk indeed are looking for the perfect magazine cover girl, and I too do look for that lady that strikes my fancy, but I feel there is a threshold as to how far it should be 'enhanced', as allot of details can be lost if its over done, details which you'd expect to see even on the most famously attractive people.
Ive also noticed increasingly that newer female texture sets aren't including nail options, I have painted up many of my own, but do miss that variety :) Also, Some sets with make up can annoy me if theres no option of no-makeup.
For Male textures because I like to use curve based hair, I tend to like clean shaven/hairless texture options, some sets offer them, others dont. Im not a fan of muscles 'painted on' in the textures so I will avoid it if I suspect thats the case, that to me limits the texture sets use to particular builds and a model shape with muscle mass and sharp definition doesn't need the painted on effect imo.
For both genders textures I will also avoid them with too much specular in the diffuse texture, I understand its not easy to avoid, and that its completely natural as its a real person being referenced, but can be troublesome in renders.
I'm am most likely to jump at character sets that aren't the classic pale caucasian, I was delighted to grab Gia and Gianni for that reason, The more variety in both Textures and shapes the happier my runtime is :cheese:
I also Like the idea mentioned a while back of Elderly DO's, I think that would be welcome addition, would love to see Vicki and Michaels parents haha
I better stop here, could ramble on for pages :P
...slowly getting the hang of using Garibaldi for eyebrows. Painting out the original ones is the easy part, using the clone, heal, and blend tools. Need to be able to get the "fineness" of hairs down to where it looks appropriate for brows (especially for elves and fae). Wish I could just create them on the skin map instead of the character, that way I could save different brow settings for future use instead of always having to recreate them each time. I have a number of Gen4 and Genesis1 skins I use for my characters saved as material presets so it's just one click to apply them.
There's a number of things that have been said here that I completely or at least partially agree with so I'll mention one that's unique to me. I always check the palms and soles of darker skinned characters to see if the vendor bothered to lighten them and/or is using a real skin resource. Adding onto that, I notice when I can't get a decent look at them due to the way the character is posed.
That's another thing that drives me nuts!! I *always* look at the palms! Even on lighter characters I've noticed that the whole character will be super realistic until it gets to the palms and then it's a couple painted on lines.
I look for complete products that I can dismantle and use parts of in my own renders. For example, I might use the bump map from one character with the specular map of another and the skin from a third. My pet peeve is when a product leaves out parts and doesn't say. The most common things left out are the gen parts on the pro level base figures. But some other things include not providing the meta data and files that make them easy to use in other daz products like carrara or bryce. So the products that do include everything get my money morenthan partial products that leave things out. Like scenes that leave out camera's and lighting, or long hair that leaves out pose controls for the long parts, or anything dynamic that doesn't work in an animation.
The thing that I Expect for a figure and want for all figures is a Standard click and load file. A way to load the standard base of the figure and at least look at it without needing to find the morph in my list and then the Materials to match the morph shape goes a very long way in my book. All Actors should include a single load file if you ask me. I'm not new to DAZ Studio, I'm not lazy but I do have a rather large collection of content and ease of use goes a very long way in my work flow.
I will say this has improved greatly in most new releases but is still missing IMHO in many Actor products I find very useful.